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Thursday, September 20, 2007

Gross Misrepresentation

I have considered using adwords for my site and my blog, so I sometimes search for things such as "engagement rings" or "handmade jewelry", to see what comes up. Imagine my horror to see Zales, Blue Nile, and yes... Target (didn't show up at this moment as I tried again). Don't be fooled. The term studio jewelry is meant to describe work made by a single jeweler, or atelier, pursuing a particular vision of jewelry design and making.

I have been noticing this misappropriation of words for some time now. Starbucks likes to bill it's lattes and frappaccinos as "handcrafted". Yes, indeed it is made by hand, but aside from those automated machines, how else are you going to make a latte? It is stating the obvious and making the word less powerful.'Another prevalent misrepresentation was discussed in an interview with author Dana Thomas on the Leonard Lopate show, which aired on WNYC. If luxury is massed-produced and marked up, where is the luxury in that. I think true luxury comes with having your purchase attended to by the maker or a representative of the maker, with very little remove between the oneself and the originator.